NAFTA Renegotiation: Fourth Round
November 02, 2017
<b><i>Difficulty Making Headway on Thorny Issues</i></b><p>As the fourth round of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico drew to a close on Oct.17, the parties opted to push back the starting date of the fifth round until mid-November to allow the negotiators more time to work on the most controversial issues that remain to be addressed. This article explains the issues.
The Dark Web
November 02, 2017
The goals of this article are: 1) to provide a basic outline of the structure of the Web and to provide some insight into the purpose for and content housed on each level; and 2) to give some practical tips on preventing your company's data from ending up on the Dark Web.
Preventing Insider Trading at Biopharma Companies
November 02, 2017
Biopharma companies and their insiders often possess material, nonpublic information. And since company equity usually makes up a large part of insiders' compensation, legal issues arise when they have access to such information and want to trade their equity.
The Privacy Shield Scheme: Should Your Company Join?
November 02, 2017
The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the EU-US Privacy Shield for business. This is vital in order to enable businesses to make an informed decision on whether or not to join this scheme.
Emergency Shutdowns and Employee Compensation
November 02, 2017
In the face of weather and other emergencies, how do you handle pay for shutdowns in the middle of a day, extended company closings, and planned or unplanned late openings?
Effective Internal Investigations
November 02, 2017
<b><i>A Checklist for In-House Counsel</i></b><p>Every general counsel over the course of his or her career will face the need to conduct an internal investigation into events at the company. Many of these may be routine in nature, such as matters dealing with individual employees or human resources issues. But at times, the company may be required to examine issues affecting the core of its business, with potential serious impact on its financial performance or with regulatory exposure.
DE Supreme Court Clarifies Role of Deal Price In Appraisal Fair Value Determination
October 02, 2017
Corporate practitioners have been closely following developments in Delaware's shareholder appraisal litigation. Much of the interest concerns the court's "fair value" determination and the risk that an acquiring company will have to pay appraisal petitioners more than the merger deal price. In a much-anticipated decision, the Delaware Supreme Court provides valuable guidance about the relative importance of the deal price in the court's adjudication of the "fair value" of a petitioner's shares.
Quarterly State Compliance Review
October 02, 2017
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1, 2017, including amendments to Delaware's corporation and LLC laws.
Alternative Fee Arrangements in Complex Litigation
October 02, 2017
<i><b>The Case for Value Billing</i></b><p>Alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) are about value, a benefit legal departments are increasingly pressured to bring to their companies. When hiring an outside lawyer, clients are not looking for "hours," and they certainly are not looking for tenths of hours. They seek value.
Internal Whistleblowers
October 02, 2017
<b><i>SCOTUS Review of Dodd-Frank to Change the Landscape</b></i><p>On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court granted <i>certiorari</i> in <i>Digital Realty Trust Inc. v. Somers</i> to review a Ninth Circuit decision regarding SEC whistleblowing protections. The Court's ruling is highly anticipated, as it will clarify the landscape for whistleblower protections.
